Crashing Down to Earth
by The Fandom Alchemist
Summary: "There once was a hero who made wings of wax, but he flew too close the sun, to god, and the wax melted as he came crashing down to earth." Thalia Grace knew both of the stories: the story of Icarus, and the story of Edward Elric. Rated for moderate violence, no pairings. Brotherhood/Mangaverse.
1. The Alchemist

_ "There once was a hero who made wings of wax, but he flew too close the sun, to god, and the wax melted as he came crashing down to earth." Thalia Grace knew both of the stories: the story of Icarus, and the story of Edward Elric. Rated for moderate violence, no pairings. Brotherhood/Mangaverse."_

**Somewhat edited as of September 22nd, 2012.**

**Disclaimer: **_**Percy Jackson and the Olympians **_**was written by Rick Riordan. **_**Fullmetal Alchemist **_**was written and illustrated by the lovely and talented ****Hiromu Arakawa. I own none of the original characters, nor the abilities of their worlds. This is purely fiction based on fiction, and any resemblance to anyone, living or dead, is a complete coincidence.**

**Great…What have I done here? A multi-chaptered FanFiction. Oops. It should be noted that I am more of a reader than a writer, and have only the vaguest clue of the plot of this. Therefore, updates will only come when I feel like writing; extremely infrequent. But I will complete it, if not for optimism, then because I'm stubborn. Otherwise, it's being deleted. Sorry about this.**

**Characters may or may not be O.O.C. It depends on how the reader imagines the character's personalities.**

"Wrong answer, Alchemist. Your alchemy for your brother's entire body, mind, and soul? Where's the equivalency in that?" Truth grinned, his smile unnerving and without the friendly quality that was expected. It was more like Kimblee's; sadistic, and ringing with amusement at the struggles of others. "I know. How about I take _you_ from this world?"

Edward Elric's eyes widened.

"But you are an interesting human. And you've come by so many times, traded so much. I'll give you a deal. If I take a bit of your mind for your brother's mind, your arm, for his soul, and your being in this world, taking away the family you love in exchange for his body, maybe even an automail arm as a bonus, that would be proper equivalency for your continued existence. In another world, that is. You'll most likely come by again anyways. You are, after all, a rather tenacious human. Good-bye, Edward Elric."

"Now wait a minute! What do you mean by 'other wor-'" Ed never got to finish his question as the endless white suddenly turned black and he left consciousness.

* * *

"Thalia."

"Yes, my lady?"

"Tell your sisters to get ready to move. We're going on a hunt."

"May I ask why?"

"An unusual amount of monsters have been appearing in a small forest. Enough that even the mortals are starting to take notice, despite the Mist."

"Oh. Yes, my lady. I'll get the Hunters ready to go."

Thalia Grace exited the tent. "Listen up!" Instantly, the entire camp went silent, ready to follow their Lieutenant's commands. "Lady Artemis said to pack up. We're moving towards a large hunt to a nearby forest." She watched in amazement as the camp was cleared in just over a minute, the unity of the Hunters of Artemis almost unnerving.

"Let's move!"

* * *

A small figure crouched in a clearing. A large shadow cast over it, claws stretched out towards to figure-a boy-, a clear intent to kill in its caster's eyes. Suddenly, the boy clapped, the sound echoing, and used his left hand to touch his right arm. A knife protruded from the arm, seemingly out of nowhere, as the boy tried to cut the creature. As usual, the knife went right through the monster, confusing it, but causing no harm. It always did that. The boy quickly moved out of the way of another attack as he clapped again and touched the ground. Sparks flew from the earth as a hole appeared in the ground, walls being built around it, right as the monster leapt at him again. By pure luck (Or was it the boy's skill?), the monster landed inside the hole, and the boy clapped and touched the ground again, making the walls topple over and close the hole, sealing the creature inside.

The boy got up from his crouch, and it became clear that he was more of a teenager than a boy, with long golden hair woven into a braid, and blood running freely down his face. He was well muscled, and slightly to the short side. His clothes were tattered, his body riddled with scars. But the most unusual feature was his right arm. Because instead of a flesh arm, hand holding a knife, it was made of metal, the blade attacked to it, right above the hand. The way that he had moved with it earlier hinted that he had skill using it, that he was used to the metal appendage. And lower, was his left leg, made out of metal with the same intricate wiring and layers, completely scratched and dented, but still operating like a normal limb. He had had that for a while as well.

As another creature appeared, similar to the last, he tensed, ready to dodge. As the monster moved forward to attack him, he brought his hands together once more, touching the ground and creating another hole, foregoing his initial instinct to stab at the creature. His blade never harmed the creatures. But this time, before the monster could even land, a streak of silver shot at it, hitting the creature exactly where it would cause the most damage, and unlike the boy's strikes, stuck to the monster, as it quickly dissolved to sand.

Exhaustion from the past few constant days caught up to him as his knees gave up, and he fell to the ground, unconscious, right as the shooter and a group of armed girls in silver clothing stepped out into the clearing.

"Was he the cause of all of the monster appearances?"

"What happened to his arm? And his leg?"

"They look like they're made of metal."

"You think that Lord Hephaestus made it?"

"You'd think so, but his blade never hit the hellhound."

"You're right. If he came in contact with one of the gods, he'd at least have _something_ made from Celestial Bronze."

"What did he do to the ground?"

"Whatever he did, it doesn't matter now. Lady Artemis will probably turn him into another animal."

"Where do you think he came from?"

"He was pretty talented." The last one was admitted grudgingly.

While everyone else talked about the boy, Thalia edged closer to him. His appearance was rather wild; blood caked everywhere, shreds in his clothing, hair escaping its braid. She didn't miss the look in his eyes, the eyes of a cornered animal, with nothing to do but fight. Nothing to lose, acting on pure instinct alone, completely void of emotion. He could very well still be dangerous.

She knelt next to the boy, and checked his pulse, and listened to his breathing. He was alive, thank the gods. His breathing had calmed down, and his body was completely relaxed, proving that he was knocked out. Looking towards her mistress for permission, she received a nod and lifted the boy up, marveling at his weight, despite his size. Thalia carried him into one of the tents that the Hunters had set up earlier, before they had heard the noises. She knew that Artemis was also slightly curious about the boy. Truthfully, when Thalia had shot the monster, she had thought nothing of the boy's strange abilities, and more on keeping him alive. If the boy cooperated, then they might have some important information. If the boy fought them, well…Lady Artemis _did_ enjoy making jackelopes.


	2. The Huntress

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourite, and followed this. You all managed to guilt me into writing the next chapter. To the person who asked, there are no pairings at all. I detest romance, and probably can't write it worth anything, preferring the different types of bonds people can share. I chose to write this starting from Thalia, as I can see her having more in common with Ed than any of the other PJO characters (like the snarky attitude).**

**Once again, I do not own any of the characters or places in either of the fandoms.**

* * *

Thalia sighed as she sat by the boy's unconscious form. Two days. The boy had not moved for two whole days, not even when various monsters came by. Thalia had been sitting next to the boy for two days, only leaving for the bathroom (don't ask about how that works out in the forest) and food. Lady Artemis had been waiting for two days. The hunters had been talking for two days. Monster had been attacking for two days at an increasing rate. Everybody was waiting for the moment when the boy's eyes would open.

A day later, it happened.

And the first things he did was leap off of his bunk, clap, touch his mechanical arm, create a blade, and back into a corner, holding his weapon in front of him defensively.

Artemis had seen the lights flashing from his blade and came rushing into the tent.

Thalia had instinctively drawn her own weapon and shield, perhaps not the smartest move, as the boy seemed to panic at the sight of the Medusa head staring at him from the shield.

Then, he attacked.

Using a combination of reflexes honed from hunting and her ADHD survival instincts, Thalia thrust her hand out and shot a current of electricity up the boy's arm. With an animalistic scream, the boy's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell, once again unconscious.

"…Oops."

She _might _have overdone it, but in her defense, he attacked first. And her reflexes were just that: reflexes. How were they supposed to figure out that his arm was made of _metal_, and should not be electrocuted, as it would probably fry him for a while? And, if the boy (by some miracle) managed to survive that, the hunters now new that they should probably restrain him first.

Ed _probably_ shouldn't have attacked, but in his defense, he _was_ in a _tent_ in the middle of the forest, being stared at by a girl with a crown on her head (who could very well be classified as a _problem_). And his survival instincts had been changed. Admittedly, he normally would have attacked someone without any warning, but that was only if provoked. Now, that wild, animalistic side of him had gained more control, probably from that 'trade' (if it counts as trading where one comes up with the prices and the other is suddenly on the losing end without even getting a word in) with Truth. But that was okay. Because in the end, it was evidence that it worked, that Al had his body back, whole. He hoped that the jerk and Teacher and Winry and Ling and Mei would all help him, because now they both know the terror of being alone and he can't subject Al to that without friends to help him. And if (by some miracle, though he didn't want to admit it) the girl _wasn't_ a problem and he actually managed to get home, he would stop making everybody worry and finally rest.

Luckily, it seemed that Ed got a little more than planned, and the Gate somehow left a residue that sped up his healing and probably saved his life. But that _must_ be an accident, because _Equivalent Exchange_ and Ed didn't remember trading anything for _that._

So, in only a couple of hours Edward Elric awoke to the lovely sensation of a stiff body and rope tied too tightly around him and a tree. _Brilliant._

For the first time since arriving in this forest that was _apparently_ part of another world, Ed actually had time to think, to calm down, and to generally act more like one of those human beings he loves so much than a wild animal. When you're tied to a tree with your hands too far away to clap, you have nothing _but_ time.

"Ugh. It feels like Envy hit me." Ed said this more out of contempt for that unnatural silence that seemed to hover around the clearing that he was in than need to tell people this. If he really wasn't anywhere near his friends, he doubted they even know who Envy is.

Plus, he might have had a concussion, but who needs details?

"Be quiet, boy. Lady Artemis hasn't given you permission to speak." A young girl, probably about eleven with light brown hair done in a longer version of his own braid said, clearly disgusted by him for some unknown reason. Perhaps for tying himself to a tree? Oh wait. He didn't.

"Lady Who?" Ed asked, having absolutely _no_ idea what the crazy girl was doing, wondering less about the identity of whomever this 'Lady' is and more about how many of his bones were broken, and _why his port on his arm hurt so much._ He was also wondering how much it would hurt when Winry actually got a _look_ at his arm, and considering how many wires were sticking out, he could guess the chainsaw would be brought out.

Until he remembered that Alphonse had given up his soul to return his arm. Until he remembered that his arm was taken again for his brother's soul. And at some point, it got somewhat confusing and he gave up because _thinking with a concussion hurt_.

"Idiot!" This time it was another girl, even younger than the last. "You fought the monsters! You should know some of the myths! How _dare_ you disrespect Lady Artemis like that!"

Ed tried to give her his best glare, which somehow ended up looking like a lopsided smile. "I still don't know what you mean. And can somebody please UNTIE ME?"

The girl stepped forward; to untie him, to slap him, to look at his automail (who knows with a bunch of lunatics?), but a girl about twelve years old with auburn hair who, for some reason, made him uneasy stopped her.

"I am growing impatient, boy. Tell me; what do you know about Greek myths?"

"What the heck is Greek?"

The girl grimaced. "You've never heard of Greece?" she asked, eyebrow slowly rising.

"If it's nowhere near Amestris, then no. Never heard of it. Now can you untie me?"

Ignoring the boy's request, Artemis thought for a moment. Where on Earth was _Amestris_? Not to mention that the boy seemed to have no idea about who she was, what Greece is, and talked about envy as if it was a physical thing, not an emotion.

This boy was proving to be far more interesting and annoying than previously expected.

"Tell me, what is this 'Amestris'?" she asked, glaring at him as if that would make him answer things properly and respectfully.

"My country. And you tell me. What. The. Heck. Is. Greek?"

"_Greece_ is a country. The people there worshipped gods and goddesses an-"

"How come _everywhere_ has some kind of ridiculous religion with 'higher beings'?"

This time the girl with the crown stepped up to him and zapped him, luckily on his flesh arm. Though that would explain why his port was hurting so much, if she had done the same trick on his automail.

"Jeez! Did you _have _to shock me like that? In case you didn't know, I have two metal limbs! Now, in exchange for shocking me, you have to _untie me _so I can_ actually start feeling my body_!" He added a glare with it, this time better than the last.

Crown girl sighed. "Do you promise not to attack anyone or try to escape?"

"Promise."

"Swear it on the River Styx."

"The River _what_?"

"Swear it!"

Crown girl's rather scary glared were enough to convince Ed to just do it. "Okay! I swear it on the River Styx!" He yelped.

Thunder grumbled in the distance, making Ed cock his head to one side. _Coincidence? Or was it the work of something else?_

He was jolted out of his thoughts by the lovely feeling of his limbs returning. _Those ropes were _tight.

Listening to his body crack and the automail motors start, Ed started stretching. "That feels better!" he said with a huge and somewhat sloppy grin.

Finally standing up, Ed stared at his surroundings. He was in a clearing of a forest, most likely the one that he was in earlier. Around him were about two dozen girls all in silver clothing that seemed to glow, ages between about nine and sixteen. Standing out from the rest were Crown girl, who seemed to smell slightly of ozone from when she got close to untie him, and who seemed to be a leader amongst the rest, judged by the way they seemed to respect her. Another was the twelve year old auburn haired girl who asked him about 'Greece', claimed to be 'Lady Artemis', and practically _radiated_ power. The way her creepy _silver_ eyes (though he can't really judge, seeing as his were gold) had flashed several times during their _polite_ conversation told Ed _not_ to get on her bad side if he can help it.

Which he, being the person who could never respect someone without them first earning it, something that these girls did _not_ do decided to ignore.

"It's about time! So, question: What are a bunch of little (he enjoyed saying that _way_ too much) girls doing in this forest?" He might have added the rather common 'girl scout' comment if he actually _knew_ what that was.

One of the other girls glared at him. If Crown girl's glare was scary, this one's was _terrifying_. It practically said _I will tear you to shreds with my bare hands and feed you to the wolves surrounding the tents._ Ed decided not to test that out.

"_Hunting._ What where _you_ doing?"

Ed did _not_ expect that. "Don't know. Probably trying to go home." _Well, it's true. I don't know why I'm _here_ and I'm trying to get back to Amestris._

"You don't know why you're in a forest?"

"Yep. Just ended up here with no say in the matter."

She drew a knife. "Do you expect me to believe you?"

Ed stared at the knife, clapped his hands, touched his automail, and transmuted it into knife. "Are you sure you want to fight me with that thing? I can tell you that mine is a lot stronger than the brittle thing _you're_ holding. And _yes_, I expected you to believe me because it's freaking true!"

She glared at him once more and sheathed her knife, watching in grudging admiration as he made his disappear as well. Just as she was about to add another comment-and possibly a threat-, Artemis stepped in.

"_Boy, _I expect you to treat me and my hunters with respect. And tell me, what do you mean by 'trying to get home'?"

"Well, _miss_, I meant that I'm away from home and have no idea how to get back. Especially with those chimeras trying to kill me!"

_So he knows about the Chimera._ Artemis mused. _But those were _hellhounds.

"You said 'chimeras'. Does this mean that you do know about Greek mythology?"

Ed frowned. _Wow these people are dense. If I say something once, there's no need to keep asking me the same thing in hopes that I would change my answer._ "Can't say anything about 'Greek mythology', but chimeras are beings created from the combination of two or more living beings through science (he figured that saying 'Alchemy' would only create more questions.). It's a despicable practice and should be banned." He added with a scowl, remembering how the military itself created chimeras with both human and animal.

Just as one of the girls were about to say something-probably not praise him for his great description- one of the dog-like chimeras appeared. And instead of the usual three or four that attacked him, this one was followed by a whole freaking _pack_ of over thirty. Ed could only hope that these 'hunters' were as good as they acted.

* * *

**And that draws this chapter to a close. (**_**Why **_**does Ed have to **_**swear**_** so much?) At some point, you may notice that I both switched in between point of views and levels of sarcasm. This was an accident caused by writing at different times. I do hope you enjoyed this. **

**Next chapter: A fight with "a whole freaking **_**pack**_** of 'chimeras'" and some discussions on alchemy, mythology, and the ways of Truth.**


	3. The Goddess

**PleaseDon'tKillMe!**

**(Disclaimer: **_**Fullmetal Alchemist**_** belongs to Hiromu Arakawa, and **_**Percy Jackson and the Olympians **_**to Rick Riordan.)**

* * *

All Thalia could do was gape at the pack of hellhounds. She had _never_ seen that many together. Heck, she had never even _heard _of something like that happening.

"Ready your weapons!" she called out. "And you," she added, turning towards the boy, ready to tell him to _get out of the freaking way_, only to realise that he had already done the exact opposite.

He had decided to charge the entire pack.

"Shoot!" she exclaimed, ready to rush to the boy's aid when Artemis' hand shot out and clasped onto her arm.

"Leave the boy. Let's see what he can do."

Thalia watched in horror as the boy charged the lead hellhound. Then felt her jaw drop as the boy actually turned sideways and used the creature's own momentum against it to _throw it across the entire clearing (_of course, to anyone who knew about his life in Amestris, they'd know that he was simply mimicking his teacher).

_Amazing_, she thought. _Even the children of Ares have never done that._

Then the boy clapped again.

"No!" she found herself screaming. "You're blade will just pass throu-"

She stopped when, instead of touching his arm again, the boy touched the ground below himself. The ground rose beneath him, creating a dimple in the earth around it as the boy used his new height advantage, clapped his hands, touched his rectangular shaped 'mound', and shot spikes from it.

'_No mortal _metal_ can harm monsters.'_ Thalia remembered. Except this was _earth_. The boy was literally using his surroundings, something god-made, to kill the hellhounds.

It was working. Within a few short moments, the pack of hellhounds had thinned out and the hunters were calmly shooting the rest. Thalia looked at the boy, still on top of his considerably shrunken mound. His powers so far mostly worked on metal and the earth; maybe he was a son of Hades using the small minerals within the ground to control its shape? But that never explained the blue lightning that flashed around him whenever he used his powers. And didn't' children of Hades generally have darker complexions and a Mediterranean look? This boy's appearance could only be described as gold, something more associated to Lord Apollo. Not to mention the lightning and metal limbs. Zeus and Hephaestus, definitely. Especially if the trick that the boy does with the blade is just something made in a metal shop. The strength and speed would have marked him as an Ares child, but the strategy that the boy used with the spikes and mound was a plan worthy of Athena. So who was that boy?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the boy clapped once more and lowered himself to the ground, the mound filling the dip, leaving a smaller indent behind. He nimbly jumped out of his new hole and walked back to where Thalia stood.

_He isn't even tired_, she thought. If he was actually a demigod, he would be on the verge of collapsing from over using his abilities. On the contrary, instead of looking winded, the boy even looked excited, like a kid faced with a new puzzle.

"At least your people are competent." He said nonchalantly, nodding his head towards the hunters and the piles of sand they created.

Irrationally, Thalia felt angry. Furious. He does _that_ and pretends nothing happens? He _dares_ to insult her hunters? He actually openly _disrespects_ Lady Artemis? She stomped up to the boy.

"What the _Hades_ was _that_?"

The boy simply rolled his eyes, as if she wasn't worth worrying about. "Alchemy." He answered simply, pronouncing it as 'Al-ke-mee'.

"What's that?" She asked rudely, hating her own ignorance (and adding a couple cuss words here and there, both in her head and verbally).

"Oh, I'm sorry." She hated that sarcastic tone he used, as if he was just taunting her and nothing more. "I forgot that it's common courtesy to _interrogate_ someone who just saved you from a pack of chimeras instead of asking them their name. Whatever. Hi. Edward Elric. Nice to meet you."

Thalia blinked. "Thalia Grace." She said in a slightly cowed voice.

"And Alchemy is a science. Are you sure you've never heard of it before?" The boy-no, Edward looked concerned at that thought.

"The mortals know about 'science', but they believe Alchemy to be a myth." Said a voice from behind Thalia. She turned.

"Lady Artemis." She bowed, hoping that Edward might show some common sense and follow her example.

He didn't, instead choosing that moment to speak up. "That reminds me! Why do you call her 'Lady'? She's hardly twelve!"

Artemis turned towards him, eyeing him as if all he was was prey to hunt down and shoot. Then roast over a fire. "Because, boy, I am _not_ twelve. I am a Greek goddess, immortal, and if you continue to test my patience like this, be warned that I enjoy turning idiotic males into small fury animals for my hunters to shoot."

She said this so calmly, like it was a statement rather than a threat. Thalia knew this, and Edward managed to figure that out from past experience.

Or he would have, if he wasn't too pre-occupied to notice.

"Then how old are you?" he asked, trying to remain calm.

Thalia answered. "Thousands of years, moron."

She noticed how Edward's eyes widened. _Time for the shock, yelling and flat-out disbelief._

She couldn't have been more wrong.

Instead, he was trembling.

"How many?" He asked through gritted teeth, head down so Thalia could no longer see his eyes.

Artemis and Thalia looked at him with slight concern (not too much, seeing that he was, after all, a _boy_).

"How many what?"

Edward looked up. Something about his golden eyes scared Thalia, the way they seemed to have seen things that no one, not even a demigod could have seen at his age.

"Truth!" He screamed, (and was it Thalia's imagination that he had a tear running down his face?) "How many people were sacrificed for your immortality?!"

And Thalia finally realized why his eyes frightened her. They were diluted. And with a snarl of a wild animal, Edward Elric attacked Artemis, goddess of the hunt.

* * *

…

_This is getting a bit repetitive._

Somewhat exasperated, Thalia shot out her hand (having got over that brief 'Edward Elric's eyes are really creepy' moment) and delivered a significantly _gentler_ shock. This was just enough to momentarily paralyze him, instead of the usual knock-unconscious thing that had been happening a lot. And then, like that, Edward was moving again, this time a lot slower. Being electrocuted would do that to a person.

Grabbing onto his metal arm (that he hadn't even changed before he decided to attack Artemis), Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Drama queen."

"_What_?!"

"Nothing.

"Did you…did you just _freaking_ _call me a girl_?!"

"No. That would be an insult to girls. Though with hair like that, you're pretty close."

"_Excuse me_?"

A slight noise made Thalia turn in the direction of Artemis, who was looking slightly amused. Either by their banter or because she expected an opportunity to make a new jack lope, Thalia couldn't quite be sure.

"I'm sorry, my lady."

"Yeah. She's sorry."

"Do you want to start something?!"

"…No?"

Ed couldn't help but enjoy arguing with Thalia. It was fun, and it just felt…right. It felt like they had been going at each other, insulting and teasing for years instead of just a couple minutes. She reminded him slightly of home. Like when he and Winry would be screaming insults at each other, whenever someone decides to comment on his _perfectly normal, thank you very much_ hair style. The only thing that was missing was-

"Shorty."

"WHO THE _HECK_ ARE YOU CALLING A _FREAKING_ PIPSQUEAK?!"

Thalia blinked. She was not expecting that kind of response. Though, if comments on his height could get Edward to react this way, maybe she'll have the advantage in future fights.

"If you are done, _boy_, you still haven't answered Lady Artemis' questions."

Ed turned, livid, towards the girl that had decided to interrupt his rant (and he was so close to kicking her in the head!). "And what is that?"

"What do you know about Greek mythology?!"

"We're still on that? Listen, I'm pretty freaking sure that I finished that one. I. Don't. Know. What. 'Greek'. Is. I don't care what greek is. I don't really care about much at the moment other that how to get home and the fact that your 'lady' is thousands of years old, something that can only be true if she had a philosopher's stone."

"Liar!"

"No; you're the liar!"

Thalia could feel a headache coming on. "Shut up! Both of you! Arry, you know better than to provoke everybody you see. Edward-"

"Ed"

"What?"

"It's easier to call me Ed. Unless you didn't notice the extra syllable?"

"Fine! Ed, Edward, whatever. You. Stop being an idiot and at least _try _to cooperate."

* * *

The drill made a slight humming sound as is whirled to life. Soothing. But still, Winry gritted her teeth. This cutting took a lot of careful precision, and would need all her concentration. Because of this, she ignored the person walking into the room, no matter how rude it might seem. Properly cut automail pieces are important, after all.

Once she finished, she wiped the sweat off her face and looked at Alphonse Elric. Like usual, he was training with a weight, trying to regain his muscle and get stronger.

Strong enough to start searching for his brother.

If Winry was honest with herself, she couldn't wait for Al to go, no matter how much she said he wanted him to stay. That does not mean she does not like Al, she really did love him, but the family wasn't complete without the loud, obnoxious _idiot_ that was Edward Elric.

The idiot that would sacrifice himself for his brother, who would very much do the same for him.

It's like one of those alchemy circles that they love so much: it keeps going around and around without end. She hoped that someone would scuff out that circle, that they would just calm down and actually live a well-deserved and happy life.

Unfortunately, that did not appear to be happening anytime soon.

"There's some apple pie on the table, if you want some." She said.

To which Al turned rather red.

"I, um, already saw."

And for a moment, Winry nearly thought that was Ed. Because only he would be that dumb and gluttonous and ridiculous, and only he would eat a freshly baked apple pie before even being told he could and-

Only he would be dumb enough to make everybody worry about him as much as they do.

She supposed she really did miss him.

So did everybody else. The Colonel, Lieutenant, and his team. They cared. Granny Pinako and Den. Ed and Al's teacher, Izumi, and her husband. Ling, his bodyguard, that girl, Mei. All of the chimeras Al managed to drag home. Hohenheim, who's grave sat right next to Trisha's.

They cared, just as much as she did.

Because somehow, that idiot managed to worm his way into everybody's heart.

But what she felt was nothing onto Alphonse.

Alphonse, who, as soon as possible, was going to restart his journey. Who was going to look everywhere for the answer to bring Ed back home. He wasn't dead. He _can't _be dead. Al was going to prove it, and Winry would do everything she could to help.

She looked fondly at the bright red coat hanging on a doorknob. A façade. An illusion to pretend that Ed was still there, sleeping away his automail repairs.

_Come home, Ed. Everyone was waiting for you two to get your bodies back. Now they're waiting for you to come back too._

Ed never did eat his promised piece of apple pie.

* * *

**Sorry! **

**For anyone who noticed that the first and second chapters were the exact same…sorry about that as well. I accidently uploaded the wrong edited document…(it should be fixed)**

**All of my sad attempts at humor were mostly influenced by **_**Hetalia**_**. The angst too. That fandom makes me feel really bad though, what with their 'short' 3000 word chapters that took so 'long' (2 whole weeks!) to write…**

…**And if anyone is a fan of the **_**Gargoyle Legends**_** by Heather Fleming, I've got two things for that. The last book's coming out in December!**


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